Scripture:
James 2:1-13 NKJV
[1] My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. [2] For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, [3] and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” [4] have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? [5] Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? [7] Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? [8] If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; [9] but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. [10] For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. [11] For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. [12] So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. [13] For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Observation:
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you by now how I feel about James’ letter to the church, and honestly, at this point, I’m not sure I have time to if I wanted to. So, honestly, I need to just cut to the chase. Just like James does. As I was reading this morning there were a few things that stuck out to me. One was the word mercy. I was in a Bible study a few weeks ago that was going over the spiritual gifts, and when the gift of mercy came up, it shocked almost everyone in the room with its true meaning. You see most of us have a perception of mercy that is somewhat skewed. We think it means we don’t get what we deserve. Knowing that what we all deserve is 3 nails and 2 pieces of wood. But Biblical mercy is different, and the spiritual gift of mercy even more so. This is what James was teaching, when he said don’t treat people who have less than enough different than those who have more then enough. James wanted us to know that GOD sees our hearts. HE see everything, and when we treat those who have better than those who don’t have. We are making a judgment based on what we think. The Greek word for mercy is eleeo. It means to be patient and compassionate to those who are suffering or are affected the concern for physical as well as spiritual needs of those who are hurting. James’ desire for everyone to be treated the same is the key to this gift. He says when you see someone come into the church who doesn’t have much, don’t treat them less than. The faith of GOD is for everyone not just the beautiful people. Jesus HIMSELF said it’s harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. What James is teaching is for the church to have mercy and not judgment. He is saying mercy triumphs over judgment. He is teaching us about our hearts. The position they are in matters. As we continue to read past this particular portion, (which I hope you all do) we find that James continues to teach about those who are less fortunate. Telling us to get in there with them. Showing them compassion by doing our best to meet their needs. Rather than just saying man I hope your needs are met. The reason I love the letter James wrote so much is that he is pretty raw with it. He is not afraid to correct us and make us take a serious look at our hearts. Saying things like are we making judgment based on what we see, or what GOD says. It’s not only what he says that catches my attention, it’s how he says it. He doesn’t really leave a way of escape.
Application:
I’m just going to be completely honest. My heart hurts. I see people struggling and hurting. People are searching for answers and asking for help. Going to the place where they feel like they can get it and being told there is nothing that can be done. GOD has placed a burden on my heart. For people who are like I used to be. I believe HE looks at all of us as one that HE created. Not just the ones who are well put together. In fact, those who seem to be well put together are probably more broken than the ones who appear to be broken. Did GOD not choose the poor to be rich in faith? Is it not impossible to please GOD without faith? I want to be found doing everything I can for the kingdom. Not because I believe that by doing things for the kingdom is how I’m going to get there, but because in going there and I want to take as many as I can with me. Showing people the love of Jesus is how that’s done. He never said…. wait you don’t look the part, or…. You don’t have enough money. HE said, “Come to ME ALL who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” HE didn’t separate or discriminate. HE invited everyone. The only time HE said you don’t qualify for my help is when people thought they didn’t need it because they could do it on their own. I got news you can’t do it. We all deserve 3 nails and 2 pieces of wood. Your cash money is going to do you no good in heaven you can’t take it with you. The home you live in is going to do you no good, the clothes you wear, the car you drive, none of it will count for anything. GOD does not care about the wealth you accumulate here on earth. All HE cares about is whether you love HIM, and if you love HIM, you will love all those HE puts in front of you. Even the dirty, nasty, stinking ones that are hard to be around. We have to love them too. HE wants us to get in there with the least of them knowing that we are no better. We have to stop looking down on people and not wanting to help them. If they are breathing the qualify for your help. Mercy is getting into the mess and doing everything you can to help someone get out. If we are going to be the church we have to stop looking at the least of these as if they don’t qualify. GOD made them out of the same mud HE made you out of.
Prayer:
Father, we love you and we thank you for the heart you have given us. A heart of flesh that has replaced a heart of stone. We pray that mercy and compassion would be our banner. Not just because we need your mercy, but because we truly love all whom you have created. Our comfort here on earth is not what’s important. Give us a heart that would love the least of these. Do not set them in the back of the room or tell them there is nothing that can be done. You are our heavenly Father. You have unlimited resources. Help us to have a heart for all you place in our path. Father right now we want to pray for those who look put together but are broken. We pray that the brokenness would be seen by them so that it can be fixed by you. We pray that all of us would see our desperate need for you. That we would see that our big bank account does not mean that we are all put together. Help us to store our treasures where you are. We need our hearts to be with you. Not just on Sunday but every day. Let us see the least of these as rich in faith, and those who seem to be well put together as those who need you the most. Help us to look at things through your eyes. Not the eyes we see this earthly realm with. We want your Holy Spirit to guide every move we make. Its in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.